r183092

C-47A-75-DL, s/n 42-100932, coded 8Y-A. Assigned 98th TCS, 440th TCG, 50th TCW, 9th AF. Participated in D-Day and Operation Varsity. Returned US 1945. Surplused to Argentine AF, then sold to Bolivian AF 1969. Crashed 6 April 1981 Laguna Soliz, Bolivia in bad weather. 7 fatalities.

Strictly speaking the C-53 was the 'Skytrooper' and was the version of the DC-3 they kept in production for the USAAF (with P&W R-1830 Twin Wasp engines and the small passenger door on the L.H.) until the C-47 was ready for production

TAP — Transportes Aéreos Portugueses CS-TDE. jornal.tap.pt/html/ed-120/hangar/img/bleck/9.jpg jornal.tap.pt/html/ed-120/hangar/img/bleck/10.jpg First aeroplane to land in S. Tomé island in May 1949 on the returning route from Lourenço Marques (Delagoa Bay) via Luanda to Lisbon.

At least two of the aircraft in the photo above are still in operation with Buffalo Airways.

The Dakota (C-47/DC-3) closest to the camera, RCAF KG-713 (12946), is currently owned and operated by Buffalo Airways as C-GJKM (c/n 13580).
Here is a recent photo by Flickr user James Paveley :

That's really something! These things were clearly made to last.

Despite a rough off-airport landing in 2019 with damage initially seen as beyond-repair, as of June 2023 C-GJKM is undergoing restoration, as documented at www.oldjets.net/red-deer---buffalo-airways.html

Built to last, get banged up, fixed, and last some more.

Amazing!